As a follow-up to my post earlier this month on BOEM’s release of the Environmental Assessment for the Massachusetts Wind Energy Area, I just thought that I would note that, according to Daily Environment Report, Maureen Bornholdt of BOEM announced earlier this week at a public hearing on the EA that BOEM expects to start auctioning leases for the WEA by the fall of 2013. Of course, that’s just when the fun starts. Each lessee is going to have to do a full environmental review before construction even begins, so it will still be some time before we see electrons flow from the WEA.

Nonetheless, the process seems to be moving forward. Given the travails of Cape Wind, it’s probably good just to be able to say that there is a process. Each formal step gives ocean wind more credibility as something that really will happen.